The vicuña: what it is and where it lives

"Vicugna vicugna" is the scientific name of the vicuña, a species typical of the Andean steppe that has today been reduced to a few thousand individuals concentrated mainly in Peru. It is a wild South American camelid (and therefore related to the camel), famous for its fine coat, which is even finer than that of the guanaco, the llama and the alpaca.

With 14 million red blood cells per cubic millimetre, the vicuña can live at high altitudes where oxygen is thin. It can indeed be observed at elevations ranging from 3,500 to 5,800 metres. Despite living at such great heights, it can run at a speed of 47 kilometres per hour. The vicuña weighs around 60 kg and measures approximately two metres from head to tail. Its legs are slender and long, as is its neck. It feeds on small perennial grasses. The social group consists of between 5 and 10 individuals, comprising adult females, young animals and one adult male.

Vicuña wool, the cause of its near extinction

In the time of the Incas, vicuñas were caught, shorn (by hand) of their fleece and then released. This system made it possible not only to secure a certain quantity of wool each year, but also to allow the species to reproduce. It is estimated that at least one and a half million individuals existed at that time. After the fall of the Inca Empire, it became common practice to kill the animals in order to obtain both wool and meat. By 1950, 400,000 individuals remained. The main cause? Strong demand for the wool from Western markets.

Today, although the vicuña has been saved from extinction through the establishment of protected areas that shelter the species and allow it to spread to some extent, its survival remains under threat.